Rare George Nakashima Unique Settee
View Similar Items
Rare George Nakashima Unique Settee
About the Item
- Creator:George Nakashima (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 25 in (63.5 cm)Width: 81 in (205.74 cm)Depth: 33 in (83.82 cm)Seat Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1950's
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Mint.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U120409927834
George Nakashima
A master woodworker and M.I.T.-trained architect, George Nakashima was the leading light of the American Studio furniture movement. Along with Wharton Esherick, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, Nakashima was an artisan who disdained industrial methods and materials in favor of a personal, craft-based approach to the design. What sets Nakashima apart is the poetic style of his work, his reverence for wood and the belief that his furniture could evince — as he put it in the title of his 1981 memoir — The Soul of a Tree.
Born in Spokane, Washington, to Japanese immigrants, Nakashima traveled widely after college, working and studying in Paris, Japan and India, and at every stop he absorbed both modernist and traditional design influences. The turning point in Nakashima’s career development came in the United States in 1942, when he was placed in an internment camp for Asian-Americans in Idaho. There, Nakashima met a master woodcarver who tutored him in Japanese crafting techniques. A former employer won Nakashima’s release and brought him to bucolic New Hope, Pennsylvania, where Nakashima set up a studio and worked for the rest of his life.
Nakashima’s singular aesthetic is best captured in his custom-made tables and benches — pieces that show off the grain, burls and whorls in a plank of wood. He left the “free edge,” or natural contour, of the slab un-planed, and reinforced fissures in the wood with “butterfly” joints. Almost all Nakashima seating pieces have smooth, milled edges. Nakashima also contracted with large-scale manufacturers to produce carefully supervised editions of his designs. Knoll has offered his Straight chair — a modern take on the spindle-backed Windsor chair — since 1946; the now-defunct firm Widdicomb-Mueller issued the Shaker-inspired Origins collection in the 1950s.
Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 gave Nakashima his single largest commission: a 200-piece suite for his suburban New York estate. Today, Nakashima furniture is collected by both the staid and the fashionable: his work sits in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as in the homes of Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Diane von Furstenberg and the late Steve Jobs.
- Modern George Nakashima Armless SetteeBy George NakashimaLocated in Brooklyn, NYMid-century George Nakashima sofa featuring no arms, angled slat back, matching throw pillows and cushions. This item includes a letter of authentific...Category
Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Settees
MaterialsWalnut
$17,500 Sale Price30% Off - Martyn Lawrence Bullard Faux Fur Sheepskin Daybed SetteeBy Martyn Lawrence BullardLocated in Rio Vista, CADreamy faux-fur sheepskin or modern shearling daybed settee custom designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard for a Kardashian installation in Hidden Hills, ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Daybeds
MaterialsSheepskin
- Traditional Contemporary Polka Dot Upholstered Lounge Day Bed SetteeLocated in Dayton, OHPolka dot upholstered daybed or settee. Features rolled arms over flared legs and a mahogany toned finish. Olive green and black sheened upholstery. Measure: 69".Category
Late 20th Century Modern Daybeds
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- George Nakashima Settee with American Bison Hide CushionsBy George Nakashima StudioLocated in SAINT LOUIS, MONakashima's settee is a design lover's dream. Simple wood craftmanship at its finest. The cushions are custom and crafted of thick and soft bison hide. Each is generously filled with feathers for a most comfortable seat. We love how the chocolate brown bison hide complements the American cherry wood. This two-seat settee is incredibly handsome and destined for an equally beautiful room. Details Manufacturer Nakashima Studio, USA Date 1954 Dimensions 48 W × 35 D × 30.75 H x 15 SH in Material Cherry, American Bison...Category
Vintage 1950s American American Craftsman Settees
MaterialsFur, Cherry
- Daybed Settee Window-Seat Single-Bed Sofa-Bed Reclining Linen Green Gold ReclineLocated in BUNGAY, SUFFOLK- Ergonomic piece functioning as a formal settee with arms in upright and reclining positions, a daybed and a single bed for guests - Formal aesthetic suitable for drawing/sitting ro...Category
Antique Early 1900s French Art Deco Daybeds
MaterialsLinen
- George Nakashima, Long Chair, American Black Walnut, Cotton Webbing, Usa, 1960sBy George Nakashima, George Nakashima StudioLocated in High Point, NCAn American black walnut and cotton webbing long chair designed and produced by George Nakashima, USA, 1960s. Features a large burl-detailed, free ed...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Chaise Longues
MaterialsWalnut, Cotton